Blood and Freedom
by Twiin-Vii2iion2
Summary: In which Karkat escapes culling with Gamzee's help, but Gamzee doesn't make. Karkat lands on Earth which is controlled by the Troll empire. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

So… this is a GamKar fan fiction with a little JohnKat on the way… Enjoy!

…...

"Run Kar-bro."

Karkat shook his head. "Not without out you, Fuckass."

"Man… Motherfucker really knows how to up and make this all harder and shit…" Gamzee didn't have time to wait. He pushed Karkat into the escape pod. "I ain't goin' motherfucker. You knew that when we started this."

"Gamzee… you can't stay… they'll—"

"YOU DON'T THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT THEY'LL KILL ME, MOTHERFUCKER!" Gamzee stopped and took a second to calm down. "Shit man… you made me all up and get my rage on." Indigo tears dripped down his face when he looked up. "You gotta go motherfucker…"

Karkat knew he was right. If he didn't leave now, then they would both get caught and this would have been all for nothing. Somehow that didn't make this any easier. "I'm gonna come back and get you, you shitstain bulge licker."

"I know, palebro." Gamzee smiled wryly, showing he knew Karkat wouldn't come back, or more accurately, couldn't come back.

Karkat hugged Gamzee fiercely and started crying. "just… Just don't die, Gamzee… please…" Karkat stood back and let the door close.

Gamzee went and stood in the hallway. His tears didn't stop. He stood out of the way as the royal guards ran to the escape pod's door. Once they had discovered that the door could not be opened they turned on Gamzee. They fell on him and beat him mercilessly. Such was the lot of traitors.

Karkat launched himself at the door, screaming his Moirail's name and pounding on the glass. His pleas for the guards to stop fell on deaf ears as the escape pod shot off into space.

And that was the last time Karkat ever saw his Moirail… Battered and broken.

…...

ONE AND A HALF SWEEPS/THREE YEARS LATER

Karkat awoke from a nightmare. His sheets were soaked with sweat. He slowly peeled them off of him and got up to shower as per his daily routine.

He let the water warm up before getting in. It took a little while with the water pouring over his head before he remembered what day it was.

'What a wonderful day…' he thought grumpily. 'Happy wriggling day to the saddest excuse for a living creature in the entirety of the universe…'

After he finished his shower, he put on some boxers and sat on the sofa in the living room. He stared at the wall. This was his entertainment for the morning. He couldn't turn on a TV because it used electricity in excessive amounts. Same with any other electronics. No other electronics means no fridge. No fridge meant no keeping food. So Karkat spent most of his day scavenging for food.

Sure, this all sounded dull, but Karkat was thankful he had the luxury of a bed and a roof. Most fugitives weren't so lucky. Hell, he even had a shower, which he only got away with because it hardly showed up on the radar.

That's right; the electricity for these houses was being monitored. The houses' electricity was left on in an attempt to capture humans who were still on the run from the Troll Empire. The trolls monitored the electricity use and ran to the house that had a spike. Karkat had found this out the hard way. He had only wanted to watch some DVDs he had found. About an hour into the movie, trolls had shown up and Karkat had just barely escaped unseen.

Ever since then it had been strictly showers only.

Karkat sighed and stood, heading into the bedroom to get dressed. Once clothed, he grabbed his backpack and left out the back door and slunk between houses, making sure to only use roads as needed. Never could be too careful.

He headed for the part of the collection of houses he hadn't been to yet. He hoped there would be some food there. He had enough in his current house to survive, but he figured you could never have too much.

Karkat tested the back door on the house. It was unlocked. They were always unlocked. He headed for the kitchen and opened up all the pantries. He found a couple of cans of soup and can of pineapple juice.

He left and headed for another house. The process repeated well into the evening. He must have been through at least 20 houses and taken at least 30 cans when he decided to call it a day. His pack was heavy and he wanted to make it home before the sun absconded. The sun on this planet wasn't as bright as Alternia's and Karkat had gotten used to it. He shrugged his shoulders to relieve some pain from the straps when he saw it.

From the window of one of the nearby houses, a TV had been turned on, and a soft glow was flickering through the window.

'Shit…' Karkat thought. He checked the house number. 'Good, far enough from home. They won't raid me…' Karkat sighed and began to turn away. He wasn't too concerned now that he knew that the house was far enough away from his. The humans had figured out what the trolls were doing and would periodically set off the alarm in one section and run to another section to get supplies. So Karkat figured no one was in the house.

He figured wrong.

As he was turning away he saw a shadow block out the light. He cursed and ran for the house. He burst through the door at a sprint and skidded to a halt in front of the TV, switching it off quickly. "ARE YOU FUCKASSES CRAZY!" he screamed, turning around. Four pair of eyes stared at him in horror.

"Troll…" the black haired female whispered.

'Shit…' "Listen… It's not what you think… I'm not one of them… Well I am, but not really…"

"BASTARD!" The blond male dove at Karkat and tackled him to the ground.

Karkat cursed loudly as he hit the floor. "YOU FUCKING IDIOT! WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! THE MONITORS WILL BE HERE ANY SECOND!"

As if on cue, the sound of a truck pulling up out front made the room fall silent. The blond haired male released Karkat, and Karkat sprang up. "Don't just sit there you nooksniffers!" he whispered furiously, "Run!"

At that, the five of them bolted out the back door. They leapt over fences and streaked across streets. Karkat tripped up and fell face first into the grass of one yard. He bounced up and quickly slid of his backpack and threw it over the fence. He ran promptly in the other direction hoping to come back later and get his supplies or, at the very least, create a false trail. He had lost sight of the four humans, but he couldn't stop running. He only slowed when he had reached the edge of the collection of houses. He tried to catch his breath as he sat on the sidewalk.

"Pssstttt…."

Karkat nearly jumped at the noise.

"In the bushes…"

Karkat turned and saw the source of the voice. It was the black haired male from earlier.

"Come on. You can hide here."

Karkat didn't argue. He slid under the bushes with the human.

"I'm John, by the way." The human said with a big, stupid grin.

"That's nice, dumbass. Now is not the time for idle chatter. Where are your friends?"

"I lost them." John looked distressed.

Karkat cursed. "Listen… John was it? Listen, John, they probably got away. I'm sure…" Karkat suddenly stopped talking and his eyes went wide. He slumped down quick.

"What?" John looked confused. Karkat quickly slapped a hand over John's mouth just as the truck turned onto the street they were hiding next to. The truck slowly drove by, obviously scanning for humans. As the truck drove by them, Karkat's heart sank. In the bed of the truck, tied up and knocked out, were the other three humans.


	2. Chapter 2

Brief author's note here, I may update this at an irregular pace, but I'm gonna try to make it at least once a week. Also, if you are reading this, good. Chapter 3 will contain smut. If you don  
't want to read it, you can skip it. It isn't important to the story so much that you can't skip it. I'll explain more about it in when I put it up. Anyway, Enjoy.

...

"This can't be happening…" John said for the twenty thousandth time.

"It is. Now shut up. They could still be looking and we don't want to alert them to our presence." Karkat peeked his head around the side of a house to check if the coast was clear. When he was sure it was, he slipped out and headed about three houses down. He knelt down and checked the front yard. Bingo. He had found where he had face planted.

"What will happen to them?" John asked.

Karkat sighed. "They'll be forced to work as slaves harvesting crops or mining minerals. At least, that's all I've seen humans used for." Karkat looked around for the fence he'd thrown his pack over.

"And what if they refuse?" John asked tentatively.

"Then they'll be killed… or worse…" Karkat jumped the fence and John followed him. Karkat looked around and then froze. His pack wasn't here. The dent in the ground where it had landed was there but the pack was gone. "We have to get home. NOW!"

Karkat leapt back over the fence and took off in the direction of his house. He ran block after block, as fast as he could while still sticking to back yards. With each block he ran, his heart sank deeper. When he finally stopped for breath, John caught up to him.

"What's wrong, man, er, troll?"

"My house… they'll find it…" No sooner had he said that than an explosion happened just a few blocks away. "FUCK! MY HOUSE!" Karkat started to run in the direction of the house but John grabbed his arm.

"No! We can't! if we go in that direction they'll find us."

Karkat cursed furiously. The stupid John-Human was right. He turned and ran in the other direction, careful not to hit anything on his way. After hours of alternating running and walking, John finally piped up. "Hey, I think we are far enough away now…"

Karkat merely grumbled in response. He headed up a driveway and into a house. John followed him. As soon as he got inside, Karkat started unplugging things. First the TV, then the fridge, soon he had the whole house unplugged.

"What's with the unplugging?" John asked.

"They monitor the electricity use. It's how they found you. I unplug shit to avoid accidentally turning something on." Karkat flopped onto the sofa and put his head in his hands.

"Oh… Wow… I… I didn't know… I…" John stuttered. He tried changing the subject "I'm sorry about your house… How did they find it?"

"They found my bag and traced a nice neat trail I left them back to my place. Lucky fucking me. Fall into complacency with my everyday routine and the universe just spits in my face and is all like 'Fuck you, you nookchafing, bulge licking, moron.' Then this fuckass has to go and make his ultimate douchemuffin hero attempt and try to save your sorry asses and I end up alerting the damn troll guards to my trail. Now I'm homeless… again… with a human refugee… not again."

John stifled a laugh.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY, NOOKSTAIN? THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, FUCKASS!" Karkat yelled, flipping his lid finally.

"I… Sorry… I just thought…"

"YOU JUST THOUGHT WHAT? THAT MY LITTLE RANT WAS FUNNY? THAT'S GREAT! LET'S ALL POINT AND LAUGH AT THIS FUCKASS'S PROBLEMS THAT WE CAUSED!"

"I… I'm sorry… I didn't mean that… I… oh jeez…" John backed away looking flustered 'and sorta cute' Karkat thought. Karkat shook his head. No. He was not gonna try that interspecies matespritship shit. He'd seen the movies. They ended terribly. He sighed. Great, now he didn't feel like yelling anymore.

"Look… I'll let you stay with me for a little while, but not too long. But if you wanna help your friends, you are on your own."

John looked at his feet. "R-right… okay…"

"For now, we need to sleep."

"I'll sleep on the sofa if you want." John offered.

"Like hell I'd let you have the bed." Karkat growled.

John smiled and sat down. Karkat could not stop thinking of that smile. Shit.

"Fine you can have the bed." Karkat stood up and stormed out to find a pillow and some sheets. When he came back he saw the bewildered look on John's face. They're eyes met for a second and John laughed, a hand sliding behind his head. His smile returned in full force.

"I wasn't trying to kick you out. I really don't mind sleeping on the sofa." John said light heartedly.

"Shut the fuck up and go get some sleep." Karkat flopped on the sofa and glared at the floor so as not to have to look at the human boy beside him.

As if sensing the awkwardness in the room, John left quietly. As soon as he had left, Karkat stretched out on the couch. He sighed. He couldn't get his head straight. Was he flushing for this human? That couldn't be. He'd just met him. This couldn't be possible. And besides, it was this human and his three friends' fault the troll patrol found his house. He should be feeling nothing but hate for this human. Innocent hate. Nothing caliginous. Yet, somewhere deep inside, Karkat knew he was being a little too hard on the kid. The human was also on the run, he had lost his home planet, and now he had lost his friends.

'And more importantly, it isn't his fault I miss Gamzee…' Karkat thought. "Dammit Gamzee… why does interaction with others have to be so confusing and difficult? And why couldn't they leave us alone? I want you back…" Karkat rolled over and buried his face into the pillow and cried himself to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_THIS CONTAINS SMUT! SKIP IF YOU WANT. THIS IS NOT EXACTLY IMPORTANT TO THE STORY.  
_

_Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, I want to talk about this chapter. It is a purely sex chapter. There won't be many of these. This chapter though, sets up asystem I want to introduce. It is all supposed to be in Italics. I don't know if that works on here. If it doesn't I'll change it. But the point is, I will signify chapters like this one. The italics symbolizes the that this is a flash back. I will periodically insert these chapters to give an insight into what happened with Karkat and Gamzee that meant they had to run. Now that my author's note is over, enjoy!  
_

_...  
_

_Karkat hit the ground running, this time, for once, it wasn't for his life. Gamzee leapt over the fence behind him._

"_Slow down, motherfucker. I'm gonna get all out of breath." Gamzee chuckled at Karkat's newfound energy._

"_Shut up, Fuckass. We're almost there" Karkat retorted, though it had none of his usual venom. He never said anything to Gamzee with any venom in it. He always treated Gamzee with a more compassionate cursing._

_Gamzee just smiled and kept up with the small troll in front of him. He knew the color of his blood. He didn't care. He only kept quiet about it because of what would happen to Karkat if he said anything. Culling was not all motherfucking chill with this troll at all if it involved his Kar-bro._

"_Hey, Fuckass, quit grinning like an ass-clown and get over here." Karkat motioned for Gamzee to join him at the top of a hill. Gamzee, being a highblood, had been able to request where to live and to choose a partner to live with him. He had chosen this planet by and because of motherfucking miracles. He had chosen Karkat for the same reason. Motherfucking miracles._

_As Gamzee reached the top of the hill he saw a small structure at its base. "This the miracle you all up and got me out here to get my appreciate on about?"_

_Karkat rolled his eyes. "We're going inside. Since you got a day off, I thought we could spend it here. Come on nooksucker." Karkat headed down to the structure. "I found it while you were working. It's still got furniture of a sort. I think it is one of the original inhabitant's hive or something."_

_Gamzee shrugged and headed down the hill. What the motherfuck did he know about inhabitants or some shit. _

_The two stood at the entrance to the structure for a little while before Karkat reached for the door and opened it. The door slid open noiselessly, revealing a dusty, vacant room. _

"_After you, motherfucking best friend." Gamzee said with a grin._

_Karkat scoffed and went through the door, Gamzee following right behind. They both looked around, taking in the dark, dusty scenery. Shades of brown and dull reds morphed into shapes made indistinct by the dust forced into the air from the slight breeze coming through the open door._

"_Kinda dark, motherfucker." Gamzee commented._

"_Well, duh, fuckass. I like it dark." Karkat looked away to hide his blush. His dangerous, deathly blush. _

_Gamzee caught sight of it all the same and moved in behind him, throwing his arms around his Karkles."Motherfucker, you don't have to hide it here. I up and all already know about your blood, motherfucker. I ain't gonna tell no one."_

"_I know… I just…" Karkat stammered, his cheeks darkening red._

"_Hey, best friend, you think they have a respiteblock in this place?" Gamzee asked, grinning all too mischieviously._

"_Yeah, but I don't know why you'd… GAMZEE!" Karkat turned an even deeper shade of crimson if it were possible._

"_Come on motherfucker." Gamzee slung KArkat over his shoulder and went off in search of the respiteblock. _

"_Put me down, Fuckass!" Karkat punched Gamzee's back half heartedly. _

_Gamzee found what he was looking for. He tossed Karkat on the bed in a cloud of dust. Karkat coughed and rolled to the side at which point Gamzee decided to pull off the dust covered sheets._

"_Sorry, motherfucker. I all up and forgot about the dust." Gamzee chuckled._

"_Fuck… ass." Karkat coughed out._

_Gamzee grinned and moved in on the smaller troll. He climbed on the bed and positioned himself over his lover. He moved in for the kill, biting Karkat's neck passionately. Karkat let out a small moan of pleasure. Gamzee took that as permission for more, pushing his hands under Karkat's shirt and up his sides. His fingers found nipples and gave them a pinch._

_Karkat gasped and whined out at the pinch. His back arched and he began to squirm, pleasure mixing with the slight pain beautifully and making his body burn. He pressed up into Gamzee's large hands._

_Gamzee growled through his grin and pinched a little harder. "Don't forget to get all vocal for me, motherfucker. You know I love that shit." He chuckled._

_Karkat barred his teeth but his blush ruined the effect. "Fuckass."_

_Gamzee's grin widened. "In a bit, Kar-bro. Gotta all up and do some foreplay first, motherfucker. First things first, let's get the shirt up and off your body." With that, Gamzee pulled Karkat's shirt up and over his head. Once the offending garment was removed, Gamzee lowered his head and licked at Karkat's nipples, causing the other troll to squirm even more and moan even louder._

_Karkat's body began to burn even hotter, making him pant and gasp for breath. He felt his pants grow tight, emitting a small whimper. Gamzee looked up at Karkat then down to the growing bulge. _

"_In a bit, Kar-bro. I'll get there." Gamzee chuckled. Karkat sighed and squirmed again. Gamzee decided to move things on a little faster than normal as Karkat was getting impatient. It had been a while since they had last done this. Gamzee slowly undid Karkat's pants and slid them down enough to reveal his boxers. Gamzee licked his lips and moved the boxers down and exposed the hard shaft. He took it in his hand and began to slowly stroke it. Karkat's body shook at the touch, only egging Gamzee on even more._

_Unable to bear anymore, Karkat sat up and pushed his face into Gamzee's groin. Gamzee grinned and knelt up all the way, still stroking Karkat's shaft. Karkat undid Gamzee's pants and pulled them and his boxers down in one swift movement, exposing Gamzee's monster cock. He licked the tip, getting a gasp out of Gamzee. Karkat licked again, looking up at Gamzee innocently before taking the tip into his mouth, not breaking eye contact._

_Gamzee growled gutturally. He slid his hand down to Karkat's mouth, slipping three fingers in with his shaft. Karkat moaned as the fingers entered his mouth, vibrating the entire length of the shaft, getting a moan out of Gamzee. Gamzee pulled out his now saliva soaked fingers and moved them to Karkat's ass. He proceeded to tease the entrance with his middle finger. Gamzee pushed his middle finger in, making Karkat's eyes widen. _

"_It's okay, motherfucker, I'll prep you good this time." Gamzee said with a chuckle. He stopped stroking Karkat and moved the other troll so that his ass was pointing away from Gamzee. Gamzee moved his finger slowly in a circular motion, pushing deeper until it was fully in. His pushing in also pushed Karkat forward, forcing his shaft deeper into the trolls mouth. Karkat moaned and sucked hard, working his tongue around the thick shaft._

_Gamzee groaned and pushed his index finger in to Karkat's tight entrance and started to scissor slightly. Karkat clenched his jaw muscles trying to keep from biting down. His jaw only closed down a slight fraction, but Gamzee felt the added tightness and gasped. _

"_Shit… motherfucker… your mouth is so tight…" Gamzee said as he pushed his third finger in, now starting to scissor all three. Karkat felt his ass stretch out and moaned around the shaft. Gamzee was so close to losing it._

"_Motherfucker, I gotta put it in…" He pulled out of Karkat's mouth, allowing the other troll to catch his breath._

"_Alright…" Karkat breathed heavily. "Don't hold back… I can take anything you want to do…"_

_A grin crept across Gamzee face. "Sure thing, motherfucking best friend." Gamzee moved behind Karkat and pushed his tip into Karkat's entrance. Karkat hissed and gripped the sheets. Gamzee grinned wider and pushed in deeper until he was all the way in. _

"_Tell me when to start, motherfucker." Gamzee said smirking. Karkat took a deep breath and then nodded. Gamzee pulled back slowly, teasingly, before pushing back in swiftly. _

"_AH!" Karkat screamed out, pain and pleasure mixing and coating his voice before it was released. Gamzee growled approval and continued his slow pull out, fast back in treatment, each thrust in a different direction, searching for that bundle of nerves that would make his Kar-bro scream for more. Karkat moaned and groaned until that spot was found. _

"_SHIT! THERE, FUCKASS! THERE!" He screamed out. Gamzee grunted and thrust back into that same spot for affirmation._

"_SHIT! MORRRREEEEEE!" Karkat screamed out, his shaft throbbing and growing warm. Gamzee repositioned and grabbed that throbbing shaft and started stroking it as he slammed in hard and fast and shallow. _

"_You… Are… Mine… Never… Leave… Me…" Gamzee grunted out, punctuating each word with a thrust._

"_NNNYYYYAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Karkat screamed out, finally cumming on the sheets, his body spasming and his muscles contracting around Gamzee._

"_Fuck…" Gamzee groaned as he slammed in faster until the tightness became too much for him and he, too, came, filling Karkat up. _

_The two trolls collapsed on the bed, spooning together. _

"_Man, motherfucker, you are the best ever." Gamzee panted out._

"_Yeah, I know." Karkat nuzzled closer to Gamzee, spinning around to press his face to Gamzee's chest. "I could never leave you, Gamzee. Never."_

"_Yeah, I know that, best friend." Gamzee smiled and held Karkat tightly to his chest. As his eyes were closing and letting sleep take over for a brief nap, Karkat spoke up once more._

"_Do you think we should clean the sheets?"_

_Gamzee couldn't help but laugh at how serious the question was._


	4. Chapter 4

Hey! I managed to finish this chapter tonight! Yay me! But, I may not be so lucky with chapter 5. I am currently working on it and it could take a while as I have other responsibilities to attend to such as getting a job and such. But enough about my life. I will aim to have chapter 5 out by next weekend but no promises. Love to all my readers. Enjoy!

...

Karkat awoke in the fetal position, drenched in sweat. He cursed under his breath and straightened out on the sofa, tossing off the blanket covering. He slowly began to stretch his limbs when a noise from the kitchen made him freeze. His mind started to race, and his heart rate picked up speed. Suddenly, John popped his head through the doorway from the kitchen.

"Oh, you're up now. I didn't want to wake you up, and since our choices are limited, I kinda made breakfast." John beamed at Karkat who grumbled under his breath as he stood up, his mini heart attack over. "There was a little food here so I went ahead and fixed it up. None of it required cooking, so…"

Karkat entered the kitchen after the rambling boy to find the table set with two plates. On each plate were some potato chips and half a can of baked beans.

"I know it's not much…" John started.

"The breakfast of fucking champions," Karkat mumbled. In fact, it was about what he was used to eating every meal of the day, every day. He sat at the closest plate and picked up the plastic fork set out for him. He began eating as John sat across from him silently. They ate in silence. Not a word was spoken until Karkat had finished his portion. It was then that John spoke up.

"So… do you think… there's a way to save my friends?"

Karkat looked at the human across the table from him. "That all depends if the blonde male human can keep from jumping all the trolls he sees."

"Dave."

"What?"

"His name is Dave."

"Oh. Well, if Dave and the other two managed to keep from getting in trouble, they could be processed and put to work in some of the camps I've seen around here." Karkat wiped his hand on his jeans.

"Rose and Jade."

"What are you going on about now?"

"The other two. Their names are Rose and Jade."

"Look, no offense, John, but I don't really care what their names are. They aren't my problem. I already told you I am not helping you find your friends, shitstain. So if you are gonna go on a rescue mission to save the assclowns from the big bad evil trolls, go right ahead, but don't expect to call on me for assistance." Karkat's rant was really half assed. He was still reeling from his nightmare. Every night seeing Gamzee killed a different way. He thought he would get used to it eventually. He had thought wrong.

"I know. I wasn't going to ask you to help me get them out. Just… maybe help me get ready… I mean, you seem to know a lot of how things work around here…" John pushed his half eaten pile of beans around his plate.

Karkat sighed. "I can tell you what I know. Maybe help you find some supplies you'll need, but I'm not helping you break them out. Once you set off on that road, we will say goodbye forever."

John nodded in understanding. "I know, but I have to do it. I can't leave them there." He sighed. "I wish I hadn't gotten separated, then we'd all at least be in the same place…"

"Hey, fuckass, if you had gotten caught then you all would have been forced into slavery or killed. At least this way you still have a chance to do something about it, nooksniffer."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Just like that, John turned his sadness off and was all smiles again. Karkat just stared at him, baffled that someone could be so bipolar. Even Sollux wasn't that bad. Karkat shook his head to rid that thought. Thoughts of Sollux meant thoughts of childhood. Thoughts of childhood meant thoughts of Gamzee. Thoughts of Gamzee meant pangs of guilt and loss, and that was bad. Karkat stood and moved out into the hallway.

"Where you going" John inquired.

"To find some new clothes. These are getting fucking rancid."Karkat trudged off to the bedroom. Most of the houses had been left the way they were found. The only things the trolls changed was the food, restocking when supplies got low, but only the things that they wouldn't eat. Karkat was betting on there being clothes in the closet or dresser. His bet paid off tenfold. Not only were there clothes, but they were the right size. No overly large shirts now. Karkat stripped down to change. He grabbed a pair of boxers from the dresser and slipped them on. He found a new pair of jeans and slipped them on, running his belt through the loops. He paused momentarily, feeling a breeze. He looked to the window to find it open.

"Hey fuckass, did you open the window?" He yelled down the hall.

"Yeah, it got hot last night. Why?" John yelled back. An internal monologue of curse words went on in Karkat's head. Among this litany of curses and rude names and the occasional flipping off was a rant about the dangers of an open window and how he had nearly had a heart attack for the second time this morning. Karkat silently decided that this John Egbert human was going to be the death of him.

"Why did you want to know?" John interrupted Karkat's thoughts, making him jump.

Heart attack number three. He glared at John. "Can't a troll change in peace you nookchaffing, bulgelicking, fuckass," Karkat spat.

John blushed and turned around. "S-sorry! I didn't mean to intrude!"

"Just shut the fuck up. Anyway, I asked because, if you didn't, we had a problem. But we don't now, so crisis avoided." Karkat pulled a black t-shirt over his head. It was a slim fit shirt that clung a little too tightly for his liking but it was better than the ones sporting the brightly colored miniature earth hoofbeasts. Karkat shuddered at their colorfulness.

"Oh! Cool! They Have My Little Pony shirts here! I wish I could have met this guy! I'm sure we'd have so much in common!" John exclaimed upon seeing the other shirts.

"Odds are he's either enslaved or dead, so tough luck meeting him. They kill more than half of their captives, so the odds are leaning more towards dead." Karkat said bluntly. He turned to leave but stopped when he saw the look on John's face. John looked defeated and depressed.

"Shit… I didn't mean it like that… I'm sure they haven't killed your friends." Karkat placed a hand on John's shoulder.

"You mean it?"

"Yeah. I'm sure they're fine." Why was he comforting this human? Why did he care? Karkat couldn't find a reason, but he just did. John looked up and smiled. Karkat removed his hand and turned away. "Anyway, if you want to break them out, I should tell you what I know about the compound." Karkat left for the kitchen motioning for John to follow him. He searched for a pen and some paper, and, upon finding some in the living room, he returned to the kitchen. He set them on the table then flopped into a chair.

"A few miles out from the last house, there is this compound thing. It's in the woods, so it should be easy enough to approach unseen. This smaller rectangle here is the arrival area. It is the smallest area. Its whole purpose is to evaluate newcomers and judge whether they are keepers or not." John listened intently as Karkat talked. "Now this bigger rectangle is the area where they send the keepers to work. The smaller rectangles inside it are the sleeping quarters and eating quarters. And this one here," Karkat pointed to the small square on the other side of the big rectangle from the small one. "This is where… well… that's where they send the dead."

John sat for a while staring at the paper. Karkat looked at him and couldn't help but notice the human's blue eyes and how attractive they were when he was focusing on something. Karkat's eyes wandered around John's face to his hair, jet black and falling just short of his eyes, offsetting them wonderfully. Karkat looked down the nose to the boy's mouth. The mouth was moving, flashes of white showing here and there between red lips, lips that were speaking his name. Speaking his name?

"Karkat?" John said again.

_Shit._ "What?" Karkat spat viciously, angry that he had been caught ogling at the boy.

"Well…" John began, flustered. "I asked how you knew all this?"

"Oh." Karkat tried to regain his composure. "Oh, I… before I came here and stayed in the houses, I was just moving through the wilderness and forests. I came upon this place. I watched it for a few days before following the dirt road between the Compound and the houses. I stayed out of sight but close enough that I could still see the road and followed it to the houses. And I've been staying here ever since."

"Oh," John said. "How do I get in?"

"Well, the main area and the processing area are fenced in, but the dead house isn't. You could wait until night when it'll be harder to see you and climb the fence, get the others and climb back out."

"But what about the other captives?" John asked.

"John, you can't go rescuing them all, that'll just draw too much attention from the rest of the empire." Karkat warned.

"I can't just leave them." John looked shocked.

"Why not? Do you know them? Are they friends?" Karkat couldn't figure this out.

"No… but it just wouldn't be right to leave them all behind," John said, looking down at the table in front of him.

"Why? Why do you care about them?" Karkat was getting riled up.

"I don't know, I just can't leave them behind." John didn't look up. Karkat threw his arms up in exasperation. John looked up. "If it were trolls captive, wouldn't you save them."

"No I wouldn't. If you haven't noticed most of my race is a bunch of nook sniffing, bulge sucking, grade A fuckasses." Karkat grumbled.

"Surely you don't mean that?" John looked surprised.

"I do. I would fight them if I could. They haven't ever done anything for me except label me a freak and try to kill me for it. They even killed my…" Karkat didn't finish the sentence. He felt the tears start to well up at the thought of Gamzee.

"Who?" John asked tentatively, not wanting to upset Karkat.

"Huh?" Karkat looked at John as if in a fog, his thoughts elsewhere on Gamzee.

"Who did they kill?" John asked softly.

Karkat snapped back to reality and slammed the door to his emotions shut becoming a wall of stone and rage again. "No one. It's not important," he snapped. "Come on, we have to go find stuff for your mission." With that, he stood and strode for the door, picking up a black zip up hoodie from the hanger next to it and shoving his arms into the sleeves and then zipping it up. He stormed out and didn't look back to see if John was following. When he heard the door shut and steps coming after him, he knew that he was.


	5. Chapter 5

First and foremost, let me apologize for the delay on this chapter. I spent the last two weeks doing odd jobs to make some money and I didn't have time to update. So as part of the apology, I made this chapter longer than the others and advanced the plot quite a bit. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. So, that's all for now. Enjoy!

...

Karkat and John spent most of the day ducking between houses and darting across roads in search of materials John would need. So far, they had found some rope, a few sheets and some spare snacks. Karkat made a mental check on his list for every item when they broke into their 30th or so house. All that was left to get were these things the humans called bobby pins. Karkat wondered why they had such a strange name when they were quite simply just hair holders, but regardless of the name, they served well for picking locks.

"So you can really pick a lock with a bobby pin? I thought that was only in the movies," John marveled.

"Not everything in a movie is impossible," Karkat spat as he tore through the drawers next on the bedside table. "Now shut up and look. It's getting close to patrol time and I'd rather not be here when they go on patrol."

Karkat continued his search in the drawers as John went out to the closet in the hallway. He rifled through the contents of the closet before finding a box labeled "Bobby Pins".

"Hey, Karkat! I found some!"

Karkat came rushing into the hallway and tore the box out of John's hands. He opened it and was relieved to find it mostly full.

"Thank Gog." He visibly relaxed.

"So… Could you teach me to pick a lock?" John asked tentatively.

"Well, no shit I will, bulge-muncher. It wouldn't do you much good to have these if you didn't know how to use them. But we have to head back first. I'll teach you after we eat. Now come on." Karkat stormed over to their bag that they'd found on their looting adventure. He carried it to the kitchen and threw some of the food he found there in the bag and slung the pack over his shoulders. He marched out the back door with John close on his heels.

The sun had just begun to set and the patrol would be out soon. Karkat silently cursed. Again he was risking his neck for this human and he didn't even know why. 'Gamzee, what has happened to me?' he thought, 'I'm losing my mind.'

After a long walk containing mostly of slinking between houses and avoiding roads whenever possible, they arrived back at the house they had spent the last night in. Karkat opened the door silently and ushered John in. He had just shut the door when he heard the motor in the distance. His finger shot to his lips as he gave John an urgent "Be quiet" look. John nodded in reply and the two snuck to the closet in the back bedroom.

They both went into the closet, and Karkat shut the door behind them. They sat on the uncomfortable shoes for what seemed like hours as the hum of the truck motor gradually got louder until it was so loud it could be nowhere else but in front of the house. As if to confirm this, the sound of car doors opening and closing followed by stomping footsteps around the house told Karkat that the patrol was searching each house. He inwardly cursed, repeatedly. 'Please, oh Gog, please let them not come inside,' he thought fervently.

A light shined through the bedroom window casting eerie shadows on the floor. Karkat held his breath and heard John do the same. The light moved from side to side then lingered for a bit on the bed before moving on. A short while later, the car doors opened and closed again, and the truck moved on to the next house.

Karkat didn't breathe until the truck had moved on for sure, but he didn't come out of the closet with John until after the sounds of the truck had completely faded. Even with the sounds of the truck completely gone, they crept out to the kitchen quietly. Karkat fixed up some canned beans and they ate in silence, each too scared to talk.

After they finished eating, Karkat finally spoke. "I guess I should teach you how to pick a lock with these hair holder things." He got up and rifled through the pack until he found the bobby pins. He went to the back door and pulled out the Allen wrench he had in his pocket. He carried it everywhere, even after he ran out of bobby pins. "The process is really simple, fuckass. You push the little bent bar thingy into the lock like so." He pushed the Allen wrench's short side into the lock, just barely fitting it. "Next you take a hair holder, bend it apart and insert one end into the lock above the bar thingy." Karkat did this as he said it. "And now you jiggle the hair holder while slowly turning the bar thingy, but don't turn it too fast cause you'll break the bobby pin. Aaaannnnd… There. Unlocked." Karkat pulled out the Allen wrench and bobby pin. He hand them to John and relocked the door. "Now it's your turn."

The next few hours were filled with lots of broken bobby pins and lots of Karkat cursing at John and telling him how much of an idiot he is and how he was so stupid, or yelling that he said NOT to turn it too fast. Karkat finally ended the session to save the remaining bobby pins as well as his own sanity. Karkat grumbled a good night and headed to the sofa to sleep.

John stayed up a little longer, attempting the lock picking a couple more times before giving up and heading off to get some sleep himself.

…

"_Motherfucker, I'm home." Gamzee walked into the hive he and Karkat shared. Smells of cooking came in from the kitchen. "I didn't know you could motherfuckin cook," Gamzee said as he wandered towards the smells._

"_I don't normally, fuckass, but I wanted to do something special for today." Karkat rushed around the kitchen, in the middle of fixing up some meat from a local indigenous bird. It was supposed to be tasty and maybe it would be, if Karkat could manage not to burn it. Usually Gamzee did all the cooking. _

"_What's all so special about today?" Gamzee asked, and Karkat froze. Gamzee looked at him confusedly until it hit him. It was their 2 year anniversary. "Shit, man, I up and forgot. It's just the Condesce has been piling on the work. Something about preparing me for my future duty and some shit, and it just totally slipped my mind, man. Shit, I am so sorry, Kar-bro."_

"_I-it's fine. I'm almost finished." Karkat pulled the bird meat out of the oven and let out a sigh of relief; it wasn't totally destroyed. He set the tray with the meat on the counter and pulled out plates, fixing them and setting them out on the table for him and Gamzee. He started lacing Gamzee's with just a tiny bit of sopor slime. Karkat was trying to slowly wean him off of the stuff, make him less dependent on it to control his rage._

_Gamzee smiled up at his moirail-turned-matesprit. "I'll make it up to you. I promise best friend"_

"_I know you will." Karkat smiled quickly then wiped the emotion off his face. "Now eat this bird meat before I force feed it to you, fuckass."_

_Gamzee grinned and dug into the bird. His eyes went wide with surprise. "This shit is good, motherfucker. What do they all call this bird-miracle?"_

"_The man selling said it was a Chocobo," Karkat said, sitting down. He reached for his fork and froze when he saw Gamzee staring at him. "What's the matter? Is there not enough sopor slime? I can put more?" Karkat's heart started racing. He couldn't have Gamzee freak out on him, not now._

"_Your hand, motherfucker. What the fuck happened to your hand?" Gamzee looked alarmed, shocked, scared even. Karkat looked at his hand. He had a cut. The blood had dried but it was a visible red._

"_I… I.. I must have cut it while cooking." Panic flooded Karkat as he dug through the kitchen drawers throwing utensils everywhere, looking at all the knives. Searching for blood anywhere. His motions were frantic, and he kept screaming. "I HAD TO HAVE CUT IT HERE! I HAD TO HAVE!" He was ripping drawers out of their holdings and picking up knives and forks and throwing them against the wall. He collapsed among the wreckage, his hands cut and bleeding new, pale red tears pouring from his eyes and dripping from his cheeks._

"_Kar-bro, it'll be okay. Maybe no one saw." Gamzee got up to comfort his lover but was stopped short when a knock at the door stopped him. He looked Karkat in the eyes and spoke plainly and clearly. "Hide." _

_Karkat slipped out of the room, his face a mask of pure terror. Gamzee headed for the door, waited to regain his composure and opened it._

"_What all seems to be the problem, man," he drawled. _

_There was a troll police officer at the door. The troll officer looked him up and down and then looked at the door frame. The metal clasp had red on it as did the floor bellow. "Are you harboring a lowblood?" _

"_Nah motherfucker. That's some Chocobo blood. Those bird-miracles all up and bleed red." Gamzee grinned. _

"_Mind if I come in?" _

"_Hold on, motherfucker. I kinda made a mess." Gamzee unlocked the door and ran into the kitchen, quickly shoving Karkat's untouched dinner into the fridge. He spun around as the Troll officer entered the kitchen. He looked around at the mess then at the plate on the table._

"_Quite a mess you've made, indeed." The troll officer walked around the mess gingerly. He picked up a knife and stabbed the bird on the plate. It did indeed bleed red, luckily, as the bird meat was still a little raw. "So it does bleed red. But what of this mess?"_

"_I like it messy." Gamzee said with a shrug._

"_Indeed. What is your blood color, troll," the officer demanded._

_Gamzee picked up a knife and carved three long stripes down his face in a diagonal. "Purple as fucking purple gets. I don't believe I gave you permission to enter my house, motherfucker. I suggest you leave." The officer hesitates, frozen in place. He had not expected this to be the residence of the indigo blood."I SAID MOTHERFUCKING LEAVE, MOTHERFUCKING BLUE BLOOD!"_

_Without another moment's hesitation, the officer ran out of the house and away. Gamzee went to the door and slammed it shut._

"_Kar-bro. It's safe."_

…

Karkat awoke, groggy from the bad sleeping position. He roused himself and went to the kitchen. He started preparing breakfast for himself and John. He decided it was best to have food ready when he woke the human.

With the beans laid out and waiting, Karkat made the trek to the bedroom. He threw the door open only to find John not only awake, but also in the middle of changing. Karkat was spared no images as the human had just dropped his boxers when Karkat entered.

"FUCK!" Karkat covered his eyes and turned away.

"Karkat! Shit!" John dressed hastily and then ran out into the hallway after Karkat.

"Breakfast is ready, and do me a favor, fuckass: next time you decide to get naked, put a fucking sign on the door. In fact, it should read, 'Karkat do not open this door or your eyes will be blinded from the disgustingness of my naked human body.'" Karkat fumed, his cheeks flushing red though not from anger.

"Sorry… I didn't think you were up." John blushed. "I promise not to let it happen again."

Karkat turned to face him and immediately regretted it. His imagination ran away with the image of naked John and he suddenly couldn't be angry, only embarrassed. "The… food is on the table…" was all he managed before turning away again.

John smiled and followed Karkat to the kitchen. They both sat and ate, Karkat avoiding eye contact. When they had finished, John busied himself with trying out the lock picking some more and Karkat went to take a shower. When he got out, he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. He was on his way to the bedroom for some clothes when he stopped abruptly. He heard John in the living room, probably on the sofa. It was the sound he was making. The sound tore Karkat's heart out. He could hear the human crying. It was a pitiful sound and it hurt Karkat. He walked down into the living room and stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

John looked up from the sofa, having heard Karkat come in. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be crying on your bed. I just… I miss my friends."

Karkat was beside John in an instant, his heart bleeding for him. He pulled John into a hug. "It'll be okay. You're gonna get them out of there tonight."

"How? I can't even pick a lock."

This comment seemed to stab at Karkat's heart. He couldn't think of what to say. John was right; he couldn't pick a lock. But he had to comfort him somehow.

What Karkat did next baffled not only John but himself as well. Without knowing what he was doing, he felt his lips connect with John's. John's body tensed at first but then relaxed, and Karkat slid his arms around John, holding the human to him, his tongue pressing to John's lips. John parted his lips with a moan, and Karkat immediately pushed his tongue in, exploring John's mouth. John let him until he suddenly came to his senses and pushed away.

"What… what was that?" he asked, more shocked than angry.

Karkat just looked at his hands. "I… I don't know."

John got up and paced. He wasn't sure what to think but then again neither was Karkat.

"I… did you not like it?" Karkat asked, his face completely flushed.

"I… it's not that… I just… I don't know… I'm not gay though…"

"You aren't what?"

"Gay? I don't like other guys."

"That's a thing?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Oh…"

"I didn't mean that it was bad… It was kind of… nice but… Oh gosh…. I need time to think…"

Karkat merely nodded and got up to leave the room feeling dejected. He went to the bedroom and got dressed, his head still reeling. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. He couldn't believe he'd done that. He just… It wasn't him. Karkat shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He sat on the floor just sorting through his thoughts. He spent the rest of the day there, just thinking. He was finally brought back to reality by a soft knock at the bedroom door.

"Karkat, Shouldn't we leave before the patrol starts?" John said softly, kindly.

Karkat looked at John as if in a daze then he suddenly snapped back into focus as what John said sunk in. "Shit! Yeah. Grab the bag and let's go."

Karkat got up, and John left the room to get the pack. Karkat met him in the kitchen and they both left, slinking between houses once again until they reached the edge of the woods.

"We have to wait here for the patrol to pass." Karkat told John. And so they waited, nearly thirty minutes for the truck. Karkat began to wonder if it had already gone out. Just as he was about to move he heard it, the familiar hum from last night. And soon he saw the headlights as the truck made its way down the dirt path towards the houses.

Karkat and John slumped down even closer to the ground and held their breath until it had passed. They waited for the truck noises to die down a bit before they got up and started their long trek to the compound. It took nearly forty-five minutes, but they soon found it. Karkat led John to the holding area. They set up just in the brush and trees, nearly twenty feet from the fence.

"Look, it's simple, but you need to be fast. Throw the sheets over the barbed wire so you can climb over it. Tie the rope to the top of the fence when you get up there. You can climb the fence on your own, but they may not have enough strength to, so they may need the rope. You jump down and let the rope hang on the inside of the fence. Next find the right building, pick the lock, get them out, climb back over the fence, take the sheets and rope down, and then get the fuck out of there. Clear?"

"Clear." John said nervously. "You sure you won't come with me?"

"Positive. You can do this." Karkat smiled, a rare sight. It was quick, but John saw it and beamed back. "Now get going, fuckass."

John nodded and headed out for the fence. He reached and dropped his pack to get out the sheets. Karkat turned to leave but froze as something caught the corner of his eye. His heart sank. Troll guards were advancing on John from both sides and the human was oblivious. Karkat had to do something and he had to do it fast. Without a second thought, he bolted out of the woods, but the guards were already on John, drawing back their batons to strike.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey! I'm back! So sorry about the wait. I got really busy with my new job and what not. And my friend/editor was busy as well so this chapter is a bit behind schedule. And by a bit I mean a lot. But I have this Friday off so I may get chapter seven done this weekend. It may even get edited and be put up by then. But probably not. Here's to hoping though, huh? Anywho, Here is chapter 6. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. Enjoy!

- Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Chapter 6

Karkat didn't have time to think. He ran to John's aid, but he wasn't fast enough. One of the guards had already struck John from behind, taking him by surprise. John collapsed, and the other guard raised his baton to strike but never got the chance. Karkat was already on him, fist clenched and flying. He connected with the guard's face, feeling a satisfying crack of the jaw under his knuckles.

The second guard stood still for a second, stunned at the attack, but he quickly regained composure and made a move to attack Karkat, a move he would regret. John, having recovered from the initial blow took advantage of the guard's distraction to tackle him to the ground. The two began struggling, and Karkat watched for a bit, admiring John's sudden ferocity. He was snapped out his reverie by a shout.

He turned to see the guard he'd punched launch himself at him. Karkat managed to dodge the worst of the blow but still took a shoulder to the stomach. He grimaced but tried to remain focused, drawing on all of the training he'd had with Gamzee. He held his hands up to block the next attack. The guard spun around and wound up running at him. Karkat allowed himself a small smile. 'Good,' he thought, 'This guy is going to telegraph everything.'

Karkat deftly blocked the punch to the side, allowing his attacker's momentum to carry him straight into a well-placed punch to the gut. As the guard's momentum stopped abruptly, increasing the damage of the punch, Karkat pushed to get him going in the other direction the spun around on the balls of his feet, connecting an elbow to the back of the guard's neck.

The guard's eyes bugged out, and he slumped to the ground. Karkat couldn't tell whether he was dead or just unconscious. Either way he would have a broken neck. Karkat looked over just in time to see John beating the life out of the other guard. Something had changed in the human. He was wailing on the already unconscious guard with such ferocity that he almost seemed a different person. Karkat ran to John's side and pulled him off the guard.

"John! John! He's done! John! Stop!"

John struggled to continue his needless assault until Karkat could calm him.

"Shoosh… shoosh… shoosh." Karkat rubbed John's chest and shoulders to calm him. It worked and soon John collapsed onto the ground, crying.

"I didn't mean to… He just… He was there… he was in the truck when they took them… I… I just lost it." John blurted, staring at the guards beaten and bloody face. Karkat knelt next to him and rubbed his back.

"You did what you had to do. Now come on, we have to get your friends."

"W-we?" John looked at Karkat confusedly.

"Well, I can't just let you go on alone now. Come on. We have to hurry. They'll notice when these guys don't come back, so I'd guess we have maybe ten minutes at best." Karkat searched the guards and found what he was looking for. "Good! Now we don't have to worry about picking locks." Karkat smiled as he swung the keys around his index finger. "Now come on." He turned and grabbed the sheets and threw them over the top of the fence. John picked up the rope and handed it to Karkat. Karkat threw it over the fence and started climbing it. He rolled over the sheets and dropped down on the other side. John jumped down beside him. Karkat nodded for him to follow, and they both crept to the nearest building.

Karkat approached the door, crouched over. He stood up just enough to see through the door's window. The room inside was empty of people but lined with tables and benches. At the other end was a door that led into another room. Karkat assumed this was the mess hall and that the other room was the kitchen. Whatever the place was, there was obviously no humans or trolls anywhere inside.

Karkat looked back at John and shook his head. He motioned to the next building. They snuck over, keeping low to the ground to avoid being seen. When they reached the door, Karkat peaked through the small window on the door. Jackpot. Karkat smiled to himself and then turned to John and mouthed, "Bobby pins." John nodded and got them out as well as the Allen wrench and handed them to Karkat.

Karkat made short work of the locks on the door and opened it, quickly motioning John inside. Once they were both in, Karkat silently shut the door. He turned to John and whispered low, "Let's find your friends and get out."

John nodded slowly, and he and Karkat began slowly moving through the rows of cots, looking at all the sleeping faces. It was a terrible sight. There were half as many cots as there were people. There wasn't room in the building for as many people as were in there. Almost every square inch of the floor that wasn't an aisle had sleeping bodies on it. Some people were piled in corners on top of each other. The sight made Karkat feel a sudden pang of guilt. He understood why John didn't want to leave them behind. They all just looked so pitiful.

Karkat more followed John through the room as John examined face after face, looking for any of his friends. He stopped after a bit and sighed.

"There are no boys." John whispered.

"What?"

"There are no boys. No men. Everyone we've passed has been a woman or a little girl."

Karkat looked around and noticed that the human was right. "They may have separated the men and women. The guys may all be in a different building." Karkat looked to John and added, "Don't worry. We'll go get Dave next."

John nodded. He turned away but paused then turned back. "Karkat, I can't leave them all here…"

"I know, I know… We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Karkat knew that there was no talking John out of it, but even more so, he knew he couldn't leave them behind either.

"so… we should find Jade and Rose…"

No sooner had John finished his sentence when both he and Karkat heard a soft noise from nearby. Both froze and kept utterly quiet, waiting for the sound to happen again. Then they heard it and John's face lit up.

"John? Is that you?" came the voice at barely a whisper.

"Jade? Where are you?"

A figure sat up on the floor nearby, the moonlight reflecting off of glasses, the light illuminating nothing but the glass. John practically ran to her.

"Jade! I can't believe you're okay. Is Rose with you?"

Jade looked at John with a huge smile until he mentioned Rose. "Oh, John… I'm so sorry… they… they… well… I was supposed to go to the useless section but Rose wouldn't let them take me so…. So… they took her instead…"

John's smile faded and he searched Jade's face. "You mean she's…"

"Not necessarily." Karkat chimed in. "if she was only sent to the useless section, then she may not have been killed but merely left there to starve to death. It's only been a few days so she could still be alive."

Jade turned her gaze to Karkat, and her hand shot to her mouth. "T-troll!" she almost yelled. People nearby started to stir.

"Shhh. No, listen Jade, I know he's a troll, but he helped me get here, and he's helping us escape. It's kind of complicated and I can't get into it right now but he's on our side. I trust him."

The last sentence made Karkat blush a little as his inner self did a little victory dance. _John trusted him._

"O-okay. If you say so. What are you doing here though?"

"Well, we came to rescue you guys. And I guess the rest of the slaves here." John beamed at her.

"How?"

John scratched his head in thought. "Oh… I guess we hadn't really planned that far ahead…"

Jade facepalmed. "You mean you don't have a plan?"

"In our defense," Karkat spoke up, "the original plan was John would come in, get you three, and the go out the way he came in. I wasn't even supposed to be here so… we're improvising."

Jade examined the two men, troll and human, and shrugged. "I don't know why I expected you to have a plan anyway, John. You always wing it."

"Yup." John beamed. "But I'm open to suggestions right now, cause I'm really stumped."

Jade smiled. "We need to start by getting Dave. He's good with plans."

Karkat groaned. "Do we HAVE to get the blonde male-human? I really don't like him."

"Oh shoosh Karkat. Yes we have to get him." John smiled wide at him.

"Anyway, about this plan to get out…" Jade said, trying to steer the conversation back on course.

The wheels in Karkat's head started turning and he began whispering aloud, to no one in particular. "Well, we can't climb the fence because A: the guards will have been found by now and B: too many people. There is no back gate… we could go out the front gate, but that bottlenecks us and makes it slower getting out. Do you know how sturdy the fences are?" He directed the last question to Jade.

"Not that sturdy. We had strong winds yesterday and the fences shook pretty bad." She answered.

"Good. I think that's our way out. Here's what we need to do: you two need to wake everyone up in here and tell them this: we are getting out. Wait for the signal from the men's house to rush the fence. Enough people rushing it should make it fall over. Make sure that they pick everyone up in the front and that no one gets trampled. Got it?" Jade and John both nodded.

"What about you?" John asked. "What are you gonna do?"

Karkat looked at the door they'd come in through. "I'm gonna go get the guys."

"You sure? What if they don't trust you?" John looked worried as he said this. Karkat merely shrugged it off.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"And if it does?" John blurted loudly.

"Look, it won't. But if it does, when you are done waking everyone up, wait 5 minutes, if you don't get the signal then come and get me." Karkat pulled the flashlight out of John's pack. "I'll signal you with this. Three quick shines." Karkat put a hand on John's shoulder. "I'll be fine, fuckass. Get to waking people up." Karkat turned and headed for the door. He glanced back at John before leaving, but John was already waking people up. Karkat sighed and opened the door. He glanced both ways before slipping outside.

Karkat crouched down low to the ground and slipped across the ground to the only building they hadn't been to yet. He moved quickly and quietly, reaching the door in no time. He pulled out some bobby pins he'd stashed in his pocket and the allen wrench. He set to work on the lock, twisting the bobby pin a bit and turning the allen wrench slowly until he felt the lock give. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding only to have it jump back down his throat as he felt a hand on his shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

So I finally got this written and edited. Sorry it is taking so long, but I'm balancing my job with all the rest of my things I wanna do and I have to wait for my editor, and best friend ever, to be available to edit. (She's in college now.) so the updates may be rather infrequent, but I will not stop until the story is finished, rest assured. I can't leave this one alone. I'm too excited to develope it and let it finish naturally. Anywho, here is the seventh installment in Blood and Freedom. Enjoy!

...

"Hey, what are you doing?" said a gruff voice behind Karkat, making him freeze.

'Shit… think of something quick…' "I… uh… heard a noise in there and thought I should check it out…" Karkat cursed inwardly at himself for such a lame excuse.

"Why were you picking the lock?" The guard eyed him suspiciously.

"I… lost my keys…" Karkat offered.

"Damn new kids…" The guard pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. "Check it quick and then we'll go searching for your keys," he grumbled then stopped. "Wait… where's your uniform?"

Karkat lashed out and struck the guard's throat with a long fist, collapsing his wind pipe. "Almost," Karkat said as the guard collapsed to the ground and gasped. He brought his elbow down hard on the guard's neck, hearing a satisfying snap.

Karkat turned and headed into the house, closing the door behind him, his back to the sleeping people. At least he assumed they were asleep. Big mistake as it turns out as he felt hands grab him and tackle him to the ground.

"GET OFF!" he yelled.

"Hold him down! I got a pillow!" a voice yelled over the commotion. Bodies parted, and Karkat saw the human he was looking for. What was his name? Dave or something?

Dave froze. "I know you."

"Yeah, you do. Call your lackies off. I'm here to help!"

"Don't believe him, Dave!"

"Yeah, he's a troll. He's lying."

"No. I know him from outside the prison… The guards are hunting him as well. Release him," Dave said.

"Strider, you sure?"

"Yeah. He saved me once before. I owe him at least a chance to explain himself." Dave nodded, and the guys holding Karkat reluctantly let him up.

Karkat stood and brushed himself off. "Look, we don't have much time. John's in the girl's quarters, waking them all up. We have to send them the signal with this." Karkat reached into his backpack, and everyone tensed up. "Relax," he said, pulling out the flashlight. "When we give them the signal, everyone makes a break for the fence. With everyone running against it, the fence should fall over."

The crowd that had gathered around looked at Karkat suspiciously, but, slowly, all eyes shifted to Dave. It was obvious Dave was the leader. Dave looked impassive, eyes hidden by his shades. "Hmm…" he said finally, "I never pinned John as the lady's man."

Karkat gawked. "That's all you have to say?!"

"Well that, and sounds like a good plan to me." A murmur went through the room. "Alright, guys, get ready at the door. Troll dude and I will send the signal."

Though it was obvious that not everyone agreed with Dave, they all followed his orders regardless. Dave motioned for Karkat to follow him to a window.

"Give me the flashlight." Dave took the flashlight from Karkat. "What's your signal?"

"Three quick flashes. You realize that once that fence is down, the guards will be swarming after us. We're gonna have to stay and fight so the others can get away."

Dave nodded. "How do I know you're up to it? They are your kind."

"No they aren't," Karkat spat, "and if you need reassurance just look outside the door."

Dave did and saw the guard, unmoving, crumbled on the ground. He nodded his approval.

"Do you have any weapons in here?" Karkat asked.

"Just a couple of hand sickles and a machete," Dave said.

Karkat grinned. "Dibs on the sickles."

Dave nodded. "I'll take the machete. Much prefer a sword, but hey, make do with what you got, I guess. Shall we?"

"Yeah. Where are the weapons?"

"First bed from the corner."

Karkat nodded and went to retrieve them as Dave made the signal.

"GO!" he shouted to the waiting crowd. They needed no further spurning as they tore the door open and poured out the door.

Karkat returned and handed Dave the machete in time to see the girls' house emptying.

"Showtime," Dave said and headed for the door at a sprint.

Karkat followed him. As soon as they were out of the door they turned to see the guards already closing in. Karkat took position next to Dave and felt someone move in to stand next to him.

"John?! What are you doing? Get out of here!"

"No. You two can't take them all out on your own."

"But you have to get out. We only are trying to slow them down."

John looked Karkat in the eyes. He lifted the sledgehammer he'd found up. "No."

"Besides, we all have a dog in this fight, so to speak," Jade said picking up a shovel. Karkat shook his head and readied himself for the ensuing fight. If any of the fleeing prisoners would have looked back, they might have thought that this moment was very moving and inspiring, as often the forging of an alliance like this one was. Well that, or: Those guys are screwed.

As the guards closed in, they pulled out their batons that were specially made to shock a person or thing they hit. The closest guard raised his above his head and let out a scream of rage. Karkat made him pay as he threw his sickle into the guard's forehead. The guard's legs stopped moving, but his momentum carried him forward. He tumbled to the ground at Karkat's feet who immediately pulled the sickle free and spun around, slicing another guard across the gut.

Two more guards rushed Karkat, a move they wouldn't live to regret as Karkat jumped over them, flipping over and slicing both of their heads off as he went over them. Karkat hit the ground and immediately turned to cut down another advancing guard. He chanced a quick glance around to see the others in battle as well. Dave hacked at a kneeling guard's neck while Jade whacked one across the face with the flat end of the shovel. John was bringing the hammer down on a downed troll's head. Karkat would have admired the scene had it not been for the shock sent through him as a baton collided against his back. He arched his back and stumbled away. Once he'd regained himself, he spun around, just narrowly dodging the next blow. He brought his sickle up into the guard's jaw and twisted it deeper. As he pulled it out, he saw blue blood pour from the wound.

Karkat noted that the throng of guards was thinning. He jumped up and spun around, placing a kick square on an advancing guard's neck. He landed on his feet and spun on his toes, bringing his sickles down into the top of the guard's head. He wrenched them free and turned to the rest of the guards. He let out a blood curdling yell and charged them, his arms a flurry as he ran through the crowd, slicing throats and stomachs as he went by. Guards fell one by one, most dead before they hit the ground, others bleeding out on the grass.

Karkat looked at the last remaining guard. He walked towards him, and the guard dropped his baton and fell to his knees. Karkat walked past him then spun around behind the troll, bringing his sickles to either side of the troll's neck.

"Mercy…" the troll begged.

Karkat scoffed. "Would you have shown them mercy?"

The troll was silent.

"Didn't think so." Karkat moved his sickles back and brought them scissoring across the troll's neck, beheading him. Karkat looked up to find the three humans watching him. He panted as the adrenaline wore off and the exhaustion took its toll. "We should go. It smells like death here…" Karkat looked at all the blood around him, all in different colors. He suddenly felt woozy. "Quickly." He took off at a brisk walk towards the collapsed fence, his eyes trained ahead. He forced himself to breathe through his mouth. Once outside the fence, he waited for the others.

John was the last through. He held out some keys. "You said Rose might be alive. We have to go get her."

Dave looked away, and Jade looked at John. "John… She's most likely dead…" Jade said.

"But there's a chance she isn't, right?" Karkat spoke up.

Jade and Dave looked at each other.

"A very slim one," Dave said.

"But a slim chance is a chance. John is right. We have to at least try." Karkat headed off in the direction of the "Dead Area." The humans followed him to the gate of the area. Karkat reached out for the key. John handed it to him, and Karkat unlocked the gate.

"Maybe you guys should go get her. She may…" Karkat began before he was interrupted by a shape falling through the gate. He jumped back sickles at the ready.

John dropped his hammer. "Rose!" He ran to her side as did Jade. Dave casually walked over to her.

"You okay, sis?" he said, face impassive as ever.

Rose looked up at them and smiled weakly before passing out. Karkat sighed. "I hate to say this but we have to move on. We'll have to carry her with us. We need to be as far from here as we can be in the next hour before the trolls respond to the back up call."

Dave looked at him and nodded. "Troll dude is right. We need to move. John and I will carry Rose. Jade, you take point. Troll dude, you take rear."

Karkat nodded. "Name's Karkat."

"Right."

The four took their positions, Dave and John each under one of Rose's arms, propping her up between them, Jade in front of them, and Karkat behind, eyes on the rear, searching for pursuers. The five traveled this way for close to a couple of hours before finding a cave hidden among the trees.

"This seems like a good place to stay for the night. We can hide easily in here," Dave said. So they went into the cave's mouth, using the flashlight to find their way. They set up Rose and then settled themselves in.

"We should take shifts watching. I'll go first," Karkat said. Dave and Jade nodded and John started to object, but decided against it. Karkat headed out for the entrance, sickles at his side. He sat down and watched for any sign of other trolls and other sort of intruders. His watch went uneventful for two hours when John came out to join him.

"Hey," John said, sitting down across from Karkat.

"Hey," Karkat responded, tired but fully alert.

"Listen, about in the house… when you kissed me…"

Karkat's heart stopped. "Wh-what about it?"

"I didn't mean to be so mean about it… And I've sorta been thinking about it and… well… I guess I kinda… maybe… liked it…" John looked away, blushing.

"You… you did…" Karkat was stunned.

"Well… yeah… it's just weird cause you're a guy and I'm a guy and well… I didn't think I was gay…"

"Still don't understand how that's a thing," Karkat said with a quick, half smile. John smiled small and moved over to Karkat, sliding onto his lap, looking into his face. Karkat slid his arms around John thinking 'Gamzee would want me to be happy.' He leaned forward and kissed John, his tongue pressing to John's lips. John parted them allowing the tongue to slip between them and explore his mouth. Karkat pressed their bodies together, his tongue playing with John's.

John pressed down into Karkat's warmth, his tongue sliding along Karkat's. He let out a small moan. Karkat pressed up, he felt himself growing warmer from the contact and closeness of John's body to his. He broke the kiss, panting for air.

"I should really sleep…" he said.

"Yeah…" John blushed deeply and slid off of Karkat. Karkat stood and bent over to kiss John on the forehead.

"Night," he said.

"Night," John said back. And Karkat headed to get some sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey! Chapter 8 is in. I'm working on chapter 9 now and it should be out soon. Sorry for the slowness. I'm trying my hardest. This chapter comes with a bonus comment from my editor at the end. It made me laugh so I left it in. Anyway, the new chapter is in. Enjoy!

- Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Chapter 8

_Gamzee finished packing his bags. "You almost ready, Kar-bro?" he asked. _

_Karkat trudged into the room. "Do we have to go…?" He asked nervously._

_Gamzee stood up and walked to Karkat. "Yeah, motherfucker. I got called to duty by the Condesce, and I can't leave you behind, motherfucker." Gamzee pulled Karkat into a hug, and Karkat purred. He was not too keen on this moving onto the ship thing. To say he was nervous would be the understatement of the sweep. He was frightened. He'd have to be extra careful about hiding his blood color. Even more careful than he already was. He didn't like it. Not one bit. But Gamzee had asked him, and he couldn't say no to Gamzee._

"_Motherfucker, you hear me?" Karkat looked up slowly. Gamzee was looking at him with a look of concern, which made Karkat blush. _

"_I-I'm fine, fuckass."_

"_You were all up and spacing out Kar-Bro. That's shit's my deal. What's all on your motherfucking think pan?" Gamzee sat on the bed and motioned for Karkat to join him._

_Karkat sighed and joined him._

"_I'm just worried, Gamzee. What if I get caught on the ship? At least here I could entertain the fantasy of running off and hiding somewhere on the planet, just us. But if we're on that ship... there's nowhere to hide there… If I get caught, they'll kill me… and you… I… I can't let that happen… I'm scared, Gamzee…"_

_Gamzee hugged Karkat, letting him bury his face in Gamzee's shoulder. Gamzee let his chin rest on Karkat's head._

"_Kar-bro, they won't kill you. I'll make motherfucking sure of that." Gamzee stroked Karkat's hair. "Listen, pale-bro, you won't get caught, but if you do, we'll escape together, motherfucker."_

"_Promise?" Karkat looked up into Gamzee's eyes, his own red from tears._

"_Promises are motherfucking miracles, best friend, and I am a big fan of miracles," Gamzee smiled down at Karkat. "I promise." _

_Karkat nuzzled into Gamzee, making clicking noises his lusus used to make to comfort him. He breathed deep. _

"_I suppose we should finish packing," he mumbled._

"_Yeah, motherfucker, I guess we should." Gamzee smiled and let Karkat stay where he was. _

"_I don't want to move…" Karkat grumbled._

"_Me neither." Gamzee was grinning like a fool. It had been too long since they'd had a proper feelings-jam, and he rather liked feelings-jams. _

_Karkat looked back up at Gamzee and whimpered. "Love me?"_

_Gamzee's grin widened, and he rolled Karkat onto the bed. "I thought you'd never ask, motherfucker." _

…_..._

_After their love making, Karkat resumed packing. He felt better, but he still was nervous. He kept running over what Gamzee had said. If he got caught, they would escape together. _

'_Together.' He thought over and over again. 'Together. Together. Together.'_

_Karkat finally broke down and cried. He couldn't keep lying to himself. He knew that if he got caught, Gamzee couldn't come with him. He knew that if he got caught, he'd be alone. All alone._

"_Be strong, fuckass," he told himself, "You've been alone before."_

'_But not since Gamzee,' he thought. It was true. He'd never been alone since he'd been with Gamzee. Gamzee had changed him. Something about the troll just made it impossible to hide his feelings behind his shell, impossible to control his pity for him. But it went beyond pity. Karkat had heard that there had been trolls before, or more specifically two trolls, whose love for each other filled all four quadrants. Was that what he had with Gamzee? He didn't know about that, but he did know he would never be the same without Gamzee._

…_._

_Gamzee finished packing, his head reeling from earlier. He felt his rage welling up, but bit it back down. He had to control it for Karkat, he'd promised he would. But it was getting harder and harder to do so each day. He could see the stress on Karkat's face and how it pained him to have to hide his blood color every day, and the one thing that made Gamzee's rage build more than anything else was his Karkat being hurt. But how do you take out your rage on an invisible, intangible aggressor._

_Gamzee shook his head. He needed to let off some steam._

"_Kar-bro, I'm going for a walk. I'll be back." Gamzee headed out the door and trudged off towards the woods near their house. His mind continued to race. Once he was a safe distance into the woods, he began to search for his spot. By this point, it wasn't hard to find anymore. Kind of hard to miss a giant circle of fallen over trees in the middle of the woods. Gamzee continued on to the far side of the circle. Once he reached his destination, he wasted no more time. He launched his fist at the nearest tree, its bark splintering under the force of his blow. His mind went blank as he let the rage take over. After what felt like minutes but may have been more like hours, Gamzee managed to fell the tree. _

_Physically worn and his rage depleted, he turned to head back to the house. As he turned he saw a figure in the twilight at the edge of his circle. He sighed heavily._

"_Hey Kar-bro. Just needed to let some steam off." Gamzee looked at the ground and smiled. Karkat approached him. Gamzee looked up as he got closer, and saw the look of concern on his face. His rage began to rise up again._

"_Shit, man, why you gotta look like that? I'm fine." Gamzee held out his hands to show he was fine. I wasn't very reassuring as his purple blood dripped from his knuckles. Karkat looked at the blood then looked back at Gamzee with that stern look that always got Gamzee. _

"_Sorry motherfucker, I just had to all up and let the rage out." Gamzee smiled sheepishly. _

_Karkat huffed, sitting down on a fallen tree and looking up at the sky. Gamzee sat next to him and they watched the sun set._

"_Look motherfucker, you're all up and getting my rage building again… Say something…"_

_Karkat didn't say a word._

"_So you don't want to be vocal huh? Looks like I gotta motherfucking make you vocal." Gamzee grinned and wrapped his arms around Karkat, playing with the hem of his shirt. As Gamzee pulled Karkat's shirt off, he saw a smug smile on his lover's face and knew that Karkat had planned this to happen. That didn't bother Gamzee in the least._

_**...  
**_

_**The editor wanted the writer to put in more detail about the sexy times, but the writer neglected her of that awesome-ness.**_


	9. Chapter 9

Hey! Sorry about taking so long. Kinda got hit with the hurricane. Living near New York City will do that to ya. Anywho, It's been a while. The hurricane hit right as I finished the chapter and I lost power for almost a week, then my editor had finals approaching and didn't get a chance to edit the chapter until just recently. I also got promoted at my job and my schedule is a lot more heavy now. I may not be able to write much over the holiday break but I will do what I can. The story, coincidentally has hit a slow point as far as action is concerned. But these breaks in the action are needed to flush out the plot. And I plan on giving a lot more back story on Karkat in the coming chapters. I may even add some back story for John, Jade, Dave, and Rose. But look aat me, getting all ambitious. Isn't it adorable. Anywho, sorry about the long wait. Enjoy!

-Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Karkat stirred at the sound of hushed voices. He rolled on his side, facing away from them, trying to go back to sleep.

"We can't stay here."

"I know, but she can't move, and we aren't leaving her behind."

"Dave… Can't we move her?"

"Not without causing her more hurt, John. I'm not moving her."

"We can't stay though."

"Too bad. She's not moving, and neither am I. You can move if you want to but I'm staying here."

Karkat gave up and sat up as John huffed in frustration.

"What's wrong?" Karkat asked as he stood and walked over to the two, John standing just inside the entrance to the cave, Dave just outside, facing away from them. Dawn had broken, and light flooded the clearing in front of the cave in small beams through the tree branches.

"We need to keep moving, but Rose isn't strong enough to… She's gotten worse overnight," John answered, looking at Karkat.

Karkat looked to him, and their eyes locked for a second before John turned away blushing. Karkat wondered if it was because he was remembering last night. "Well then I have to say Dave is right."

John looked shocked.

Karkat rephrased, "Well, I mean, we did make a stop to get her, it would be senseless to leave her behind, especially since she's your friend. So leaving her behind is out of the question, and if we can't move her without making her condition worse, then there seems to be only be one possible answer. We stay until she gets better." Karkat shrugged. "Besides we're relatively hidden here."

Karkat moved to John's side. "Where's the other girl? Jade?"

"She went to get water from the creek," Dave answered. "She should be back soon."

"Okay. I'm gonna go look for food. Maybe some firewood as well, it's gonna get cold tonight," Karkat said, and he walked past Dave and off into the woods. He had made just out of view when he heard John call out.

"Wait!" John came up behind him, jogging to catch up.

"Be quiet. There may be someone looking for us," Karkat hissed.

"Sorry. I just thought you might need some help." John blushed lightly.

"Sure. What about Dave?"

"He wanted to be alone anyway. I mean, Rose is his sister."

Karkat nodded and just assumed that that was some kind of human thing. He kept walking, looking around for some sign of life, some bushes with fruit or something.

"So… About last night…"

Karkat froze. 'Not this again…' he thought. Then he felt something warm in his hand. He looked down to see John's hand there in his. He looked up to see John looking at him with a wide smile and a light blush. Karkat allowed himself a half smile and gave John's hand a squeeze and didn't let go. They continued to walk, looking around for anything of use as they did. When they finally found a fallen tree, Karkat reluctantly let go of John's hand to tear some branches off for firewood and kindling.

"Hey, Karkat… I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah?"

"When we were preparing for breaking out the others, I asked if you would want to save your kind and you said they killed someone. Who did they kill?" John asked tentatively.

Karkat stood still, his mind racing. He finally sighed and decided he should open up a little.

"My matesprit," he said.

"Your what?" John looked confused.

"My matesprit. Well, we started off as Moirails but it turned red…"

"More what? Turned red?" John obviously wasn't following.

"My lover," Karkat said exasperatedly.

"Oh." John sat on the tree.

"It was almost one and a half sweeps ago. Gamzee had been called into service for the Condesce, and I went with him. It was okay until they found out my blood was red…" At the look of incomprehension on John's face, Karkat explained. "My race has different blood colors and a social standing based on each. The rust colors are the lowest on the social ladder then the yellow bloods. Next comes the green bloods, followed by the blue bloods. The purple bloods are considered royalty. My blood, well, my blood is bright red. It doesn't really exist in the spectrum, so they want me culled to 'Maintain the purity of the race.'

"Anyway, they found out my blood color, and I had to run. My matesprit helped me escape, but he stayed behind to fend off the pursuers. I watched as they beat him up. They held him down and kicked him while others threw punches. All I could do is watch as they beat him mercilessly. I screamed at them to stop but they didn't. Then the escape pod shot me out, leaving him behind…"

By the time Karkat finished telling the story, a stream of red tears was flowing from his eyes. His fists were clenched as he stared at the ground. John sat in stunned silence, not knowing what to say. He stood and wrapped his arms around Karkat.

"Don't cry… please… I'm sorry… I didn't mean to dig up bad memories… Just, please don't cry."

Karkat stood with his arms at his side for a while. He slowly brought his arms up and wrapped them around John. He buried his face into John's shoulder and let his tears flow. The last time he'd cried on someone's shoulder was a long time ago. And he'd swore he'd never do it on anyone else's shoulder.

Karkat pushed John up against an upright tree and lifted his head to plant a kiss on John's lips. John gasped as Karkat pushed his tongue into his mouth. Karkat felt the warmth of John's body against his and that comforted him. Karkat let out all his passion into the kiss. He pressed his body into John's, pinning him against the tree. He grabbed John's wrists and pinned them above his head. Karkat moved to John's neck and licked it lightly before he started nipping. John let out a whine but didn't fight back.

Karkat let go of John's hands and lifted up John's blue hoodie, But John grabbed his hands and shook his head.

"Not yet…" he begged.

Karkat growled but let the hoodie fall back in place. He moved his head and kissed John's lips, his tongue sliding along John's lips. As John's lips parted, Karkat shot his tongue into the waiting mouth. John's tongue tentatively played with Karkat's. Karkat moaned deeply as he pulled John against him. John wrapped his arms around him and returned the kiss in full, his confidence rising. Karkat's hands roamed John's back, feeling his shoulder blades and the small of his back through the sweatshirt material. Suddenly, Karkat broke the kiss, gasping for air.

"We should return before the others come searching for us," Karkat panted. John nodded and pulled his hoodie back on. Karkat bent over and picked up the firewood that he had pulled from the tree. John picked up the rest and they set off to return to the cave.

….

When John and Karkat returned with the firewood, Jade had already returned with water. She was knelt at Rose's side, giving her some water. John dropped his wood just inside the mouth of the cave and went to check on Rose. Karkat dropped his as well and set about finding stones to create a fire pit. He heard the whispering over near Rose, but he didn't really pay attention to what was said. He was too lost in his head, thinking about what he and John had done in the forest. He couldn't help but think that maybe this wasn't right. He felt better with John though, but not like it was with Gamzee. Maybe this was what it felt like to be on the other side? Maybe it was just that he was dominant in this relationship. Somewhere behind him he heard his name, but it didn't register.

"Karkat!" John yelled, snapping Karkat from his thoughts.

"What?" Karkat looked in the direction of the voice. John was looking at him with concern.

"I've been talking to you for a while, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just was thinking."

"Okay." John eyed him suspiciously. "Well, Rose has gotten worse… We can't move anytime soon."

Karkat looked at the limp human over in the corner. She looked so pathetic. His heart tore at the sight. He turned away from her. When had he become so soft? Hadn't he sworn to harden his heart to everything when he lost Gamzee? Yet here he was, pitying a dying human, making out with another and helping two more escape. Maybe he just couldn't change. Maybe he was doomed to always have this soft spot. He always tried to hide it, yet it always won over. And he really did miss his troll Romcoms. He was always particular to "The One in Which the Protagonist Flushes Red For His Moirail Who is Red For the Protagonist's Kismesis And is Secretly Pale For His Kismesis Who is Flushing For the Protagonist's Kismesis, Thus Strengthening the Kismesitude Between Her And the Protagonist's Moirail."

"Should I build the fire pit closer to her?" Karkat asked. John nodded

"It'll be easier than moving her," John replied.

Karkat picked up the stones and went to build the fire pit next to Rose. He set them up in a circle and went to get the wood, returning to finish building the pit. He glanced at the motionless Rose. He sighed.

"Why do I care? I don't even know you guys," he said aloud since the others weren't around. "I guess because we're all on the run… But why do I feel for John this way… I swore I'd never feel like that about anyone other than Gamzee… I just… I'm so lonely…but… I just… I'm so confused…" Karkat let his head drop as he fell back on his ass. He bit his lip to fight back tears. "They took him from me… I lost my matesprit to them… I want him back… but he isn't coming back…" The tears dripped from his cheeks. "I… I miss him…"

"Hey Karkat, come here real quick?" John called from the mouth of the cave. Karkat stood and wiped the tears from his eyes, trying to regain his composure before he went to join the others at the mouth of the cave. He turned around and strode to the opening.

"What do you need?" he asked as he stepped out into the blinding light.

"Dave and Jade were just telling me about something they heard about in the compound," John answered.

Dave merely nodded.

"Yeah." Jade spoke up. "We heard about a rebel group. They're apparently trying to regain Earth from the trolls."

"Do you know where they are?" Karkat asked, his interest piqued.

"No, at least not exactly. They said they had some kind of underground base," Jade said, looking down.

Karkat thought for a moment. "How did this person know of this group?" he asked.

"Well… they said they were headed there," Jade answered.

"So it may just be a rumor," John offered up.

"But it's better to take a chance on this rather than run forever," Karkat stated. He turned to Dave. "What about you?"

"Could be cool" was all Dave offered. Karkat scoffed.

"I guess we should go looking for it as soon as Rose is well enough to move," Karkat said. "But we'll need to figure out where to head. It'll have to be somewhere hidden…" Karkat stared off into space, deep in thought. The others thought as well, staring off in various directions. No one could tell exactly where Dave was staring, not that it really mattered. After a few minutes, their thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Rose coughing from within the cave. Jade gave a startled noise and ran in to help her. John looked around, trying to find something he could do to help before rushing in to help. Dave stood stock still, his mouth and emotionless line, his body unmoving. Karkat went in after the other two, ready to start the fire. He cursed in his head. This was not good. They had no way to make her better. She was dying, and they could do nothing but watch.


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys, I'm baaaaaaaack! I promised I'd continue this story and I am! so here you guys go! Sorry it is a short one, but I hpe you enjoy it. The next few will be longer! And now a note from my editor!

**Editor note: I'd like to apologise for the amount of time that it took me to finish looking at this chapter and going through it. I was busy in college and had exams to study for (on top of that, I got sick). So enjoy this chapter. There will be others shortly. - strayMongrel**

Ain't she a sweetie!? Well, without any further ado... Enjoy!

Twiin-Vii2iion2

_..._

_Karkat glanced around nervously. It had been1/4 of a sweep since they'd moved onto the ship Gamzee was now stationed at, yet he still hadn't gotten over his nervousness. Was he really to blame for worrying when one slip of a knife or an accidental scratch meant certain death? He shook his head and adjusted his bowtie for the twentieth time since they'd left the room. _

"_Karbro, you need to motherfucking relax, man. It's just a ball." Gamzee slid his arm around the smaller troll with a chuckle._

"_I am relaxed, nooksniffer. What makes you think I'm not relaxed?" Karkat demanded in a manner most unbefitting one who should be as relaxed as he claimed to be._

"_I'm just saying you should enjoy yourself, motherfucker. That's what this is for." _

"_Gamzee, I just can't relax. On top of being worried about someone finding out about my blood, I also _

_haven't decided if I feel like celebrating."_

"_Why not? We motherfucking won."_

"_Won what? It wasn't even a battle. They surrendered and you were still forced to kill them all. That isn't a battle, that's slaughter."_

_Gamzee quickly pulled Karkat into an alcove and looked around to make sure no one was around to hear him._

"_Listen Karbro, you can't say shit like that. If someone hears you, it's considered treason, and they'll kill you on the spot. So can the motherfucking opinions for the night, okay?" Karkat merely nodded, unable to argue with Gamzee. _

_Gamzee let go of him. _

"_Alright, Let's go." He turned and headed off in the direction of the ball. Karkat took a deep breath and then set off after him, staying just a few steps behind until they reached their destination. Gamzee looked behind him and held out his hand. "Come on, motherfucker." _

_Karkat took his hand and let himself be lead into the ball, chin held high and legs steady, but despite his outward appearance, he was a nervous wreck inside._

…

_Karkat's hopes at calming down as the night went on were immediately shot down when he found out who he was seated with, the captain and most of the upper level crew, the side effects of being in a matespritship with someone as high ranking as Gamzee. He nodded at the quarter master as well as __the captain's right hand man as they came in. They were no one he recognized so he kept mostly quiet, only answering when spoken to. This continued until the captain walked in. _

"_ERIDAN!?" Karkat's jaw dropped in surprise._

"_That's Captain Ampora to you… Karkat!? Wwhat are you doing here?"_

"_I'm here with Gamzee. Wait… Captain Ampora? YOU'RE the captain?!"_

"_Yes. Try not to sound so surprised. I wwas destined to become one, wwhat wwith my love of the sea and space being just a vvast, wwaterless ocean."_

_Karkat eyed him. "I guess it was," he finally said. _

_Eridan smirked. "So, managed to reel in a highblood huh? Guess wwhatever wworks."_

_Karkat glared at Eridan but with one glance from Gamzee he bit his tongue. Gamzee turned his gaze to Eridan._

"_Actually, motherfucking Captain Ampora, I reeled him in. I chose him."_

_Karkat blushed. He looked down quickly, thankful for the makeup he had applied for the fact that his _

_blush would not be seen. Suddenly he felt Gamzee grab his hand and pull him up._

"_Now if you'll excuse us, I'd like to get a dance in before dinner."_

_Karkat followed Gamzee out to the ball floor as a slow song started. Gamzee pulled him in close, their _

_bodies touching. Karkat wrapped his arms around Gamzee and let out a soft series of clicks._

"_How long have you known he was the captain?"_

"_Since I got here. Thought it motherfucking better not mention it. You might get angry."_

"_I AM angry."_

"_Motherfucking miracle, man. Now shoosh. Let's just enjoy the dance."_

"_But…"_

"_I said shoosh."_

"_Fine, I'll be quiet."_

"_Now that'd be a motherfucking miracle."_

_Karkat glared at Gamzee's chest before nuzzling into it and smelling him. He would have loved to have spent the entire time just dancing, but eventually they would have to stop. But that time was not now. And for once, it was a motherfucking miracle, Karkat stayed almost completely silent. Almost._


	11. Chapter 11

Hey guys, I'm back. I am really sorry that this has taken so long. I had some personal issues to work out and my editor had her own issues to work out. I don't know if I told you guys but my grandfather recently passed and we had his memorial service just over a week ago. It was a really tough time for my father and for me. I'm sorry that I've been away for so long but for the past few weeks I haven't really felt like writing. But I am here to say that I will be updating this story with chapters 11, 12, and 13 over the course of this week. So without further ado... Enjoy!

Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Karkat awoke to the sounds of Rose coughing and wheezing. He closed his eyes and tried to will the sounds away. He hated to admit it, but she was becoming a liability. The trolls responding to the jailbreak would be looking for them still. It was a miracle they hadn't been found yet, but Karkat didn't want to tempt fate.

However much of a liability she was becoming, Karkat couldn't leave her. None of them could. Karkat had grown to care for her through sympathy. He couldn't leave her to die any more than he could leave John or Jade or Dave to die. They'd been drawn close through the break out, and, even though Dave didn't talk to Karkat much, and Jade was too busy looking after Rose, Karkat felt closer to them somehow.

Karkat sat up slowly and looked around the cave. Jade was at her normal spot by Rose's side, but the other two weren't in the cave. Karkat stood, shuffled around, and made for the cave mouth.

"I think Dave mumbled something about going to find food," Jade offered with a small smile.

Karkat nodded and took two more steps towards the cave opening before stopping and turning around to look at Jade. She looked sad, worn out, almost broken as she changed the wet cloth on Rose's forehead.

"Do you want me to watch after her for a while?" Karkat offered, his voice choked from just waking up.

Jade shook her head. "I'm fine. Thanks, though."

Karkat opened his mouth to protest that she was not fine, that she needed sleep as well, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned and saw John shaking his head and warning him off of his unsaid protest. Karkat huffed, but it sounded more like a sigh, and walked out of the cave. He walked a ways into the forest, making sure he was out of range of the cave.

"Why won't she let someone else take over?! I mean, she needs the rest, too!" Karkat groaned. "I mean, she's going to get herself sick if she's not careful."

"Because she feels it is her duty." It was Dave who spoke.

"What does that mean?!" Karkat spat.

"She feels responsible for what happened to Rose."

"Why?!"

"Because she was there, and she didn't stop it!" Dave shouted, showing the first emotion Karkat had noticed since they'd left the compound. His upper lip curled in a mix of emotions, and he turned and strode off into the woods.

"Shit..." John muttered and started after him. Karkat caught his arm.

"I think I should do this..." he said. When John opened his mouth to protest, he waved a hand and cut him off. "Dave and I obviously have some unaired grievances. I think we need to sort this out… sooner rather than later." When John sighed and nodded, Karkat turned and followed the path Dave had made through the woods. After a little walking and dodging tree branches, Karkat found Dave in a small

opening and approached him.

"Hey..." Karkat didn't get to finish what he was going to say before Dave had spun around and pinned

him up against the nearest tree. Dave stared at him through his sunglasses leaving Karkat unable to determine where exactly those eyes were looking.

"What do you want?" Dave spat.

"To clear the air between us because I can tell you have a problem with me."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Karkat decided not to wonder who this Sherlock person was and what he had to do with shit or the lack thereof. "Look, if you want to say something to me then go on and fucking say it. I'm getting really tired of this extreme passive aggressive."

"You want me to say something?" Dave asked, his rage barely contained. "How about this: You show up and expect me to trust you when you are a stupid fucking troll alien thing, the exact same things that invaded my planet and enslaved my entire race and have put MY sister at the brink of death, and YOU WANT ME TO TRUST YOU!?" Dave pulled back and punched Karkat in the face. As Karkat collapsed, Dave jumped on top of him. Karkat brought his hands up to defend himself as Dave started to throw more punches.

Karkat rolled Dave off of him and jumped up. He had just turned to face Dave as Dave was standing up and lunging again. Karkat dodged the punch and hit Dave in the stomach. Dave cringed but recovered and swung, catching Karkat's jaw. Karkat stumbled and hit a tree. Dave ran at him again, and Karkat, without thinking, lunged at him. They collided in midair, falling to the ground and clawing at each other.

The scruff continued for a while, punches hitting and missing, nails scratching skin, and curses being

uttered at each other until the two were worn out. Laying there, panting, Karkat looked over at Dave.

"We good now?"

"Yeah."

Karkat nodded and sat up.

"Hey, Karkat..."

Karkat turned around and looked at Dave, who was still lying on the ground, his face back to the stoic

look, his eyes hidden by the shades still.

"Promise you won't tell the others how I acted here?"

Karkat smiled. "Only if you tell me how you managed to keep those fucking sunglasses on during the whole damn fight."

Dave just smirked. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

**Editor's note: sorry about the long wait. It was my fault really. I had some things come up in life. Other chapters will be up shortly in the author's own time. You all will be in awe at what is going to happen. -sM**


	12. Chapter 12

Okay guys, this story is starting to get even more serious. I am really liking the path it is taking and I want to thank you all real quick. I almost didn't put this out here because of fear of how people might hate it and i would just be broken by that. My editor pretty much talked me into it. I'm glad she did because you guys have been wonderful. Thank you so much for the support and the readings and everything. I feel like I haven't thanked you guys nearly enough for everything. You guys keep me writing this story. i didn't expect this story to get this much attention. Thank you so much for reading. For you guys I will finish this story. Enough rambling though. Enjoy!

Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Karkat came into the cave first, followed very shortly after by Dave. It wasn't until he was a few steps into the cave that he noticed the eerie silence broken only occasionally by a soft sob of someone who's tears had dried up but the sadness had not left yet. Karkat froze on the spot and felt Dave do the same behind him. It wasn't the sobbing that disturbed him, it was the silence. No coughing, no wheezing, nothing.

Karkat felt Dave move past him as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. As his vision came back, he saw Jade leaning over Rose's all-too-still body, the sobbing coming from the former. Dave now stood just a few feet away and stopped. Karkat didn't—no—couldn't move. He noted that John was standing next to Jade, his hand on her shoulder.

John was looking at Dave who just fell to his knees, no other emotion showing.

"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." Jade sobbed. "She just stopped breathing and I couldn't get her to wake up. She just... She just..." Jade burst into a hysterical fit of sobbing that racked her body. John squeezed her shoulder, his face wrought with barely contained sadness.

Karkat just stood still, staring. This was too much. He felt his heart tearing apart. In the few days they'd been in the cave, he'd stayed up late next to Rose, talking to her about Gamzee, about his life before exile. True, she hadn't actually been listening, but he'd grown a fondness for her, and then she was just torn away from him, from them all. It wasn't fair.

A rage began to build in Karkat, a blinding rage that consumed his thoughts. How could they do this to her? Why?

'This isn't fair. This isn't fair.' The thought just kept repeating in his mind. He spun around and left the cave. He just walked blindly through the forest. He finally snapped and turned, punching the nearest tree. He threw punch after punch against the hard bark, feeling the tree shake with each blow. He screamed profanities at the tree, at the trolls who did this, at the Condesce, at the world, at the universe. He screamed and punched until he couldn't anymore and collapsed to his knees crying silently, his forehead pressed up against the dented tree trunk. He was too delirious with pain and sadness and anger that he didn't react to John walking up behind him.

"Karkat..." John put a hand on his shoulder and knelt next to him. Karkat didn't move or react.

"This isn't fair, John. She was supposed to get better." Karkat turned around and sat with his back against the tree. He looked up towards the sky, red tears still in his eyes. John sat down next to him.

"I know. It's hard on all of us. I mean... she is... was Dave's sister," John began, the hurt in his voice apparent, "and she was my best friend..." His voice wavered, and he stopped talking. Karkat immediately felt like an ass. He reached out and grabbed John's hand.

"I'm sorry..." Karkat apologized. He pulled John close and hugged him. They both needed comforting, they all did. Karkat sighed shakily and held onto John as he cried quietly. Karkat let John lay his head on his lap and began stroking his hair. They stayed like this for what seemed like hours, not saying a word.

…...

Dave heard Karkat run out of the cave and soon after his eyes picked up on John moving to follow. He heard it, he saw it, but it didn't register. All that registered was Rose, lifeless and still. He couldn't even begin to figure out what to feel. He just knelt there, stricken dumb. His sister, HIS sister was dead.

Sudden rage filled him, rage at the trolls. He shook slightly and leaned over, punching the ground. This didn't happen. This couldn't happen. He wouldn't allow it to happen.

But it had happened. And he couldn't do anything about it.

He stopped punching and slowly looked up, his eyes training on Jade, who was still sobbing uncontrollably next to Rose. He stood and went to her side. He sat down next to her and tentatively started to reach out to her, stopping short, unsure what to do exactly. He finally touched her shoulder in a manner he hoped was comforting.

"It isn't your fault." He said after minutes of just sitting there.

This didn't have the desired effect as Jade just sobbed harder.

"Come on... Jade... you're stronger than this..." Dave pleaded, his eyes starting to water. No, he wasn't crying, Dave never cries. Jade's sobbing started to slow. "You know this isn't your fault. You did what you could."

"But... it wasn't enough..."

"No, but I don't think any of us could do enough."

The two sat there in silence for a while, Dave stroking Jade's back in a soothing manner.

"Dave?" She broke the silence.

"Yeah?"

"You really don't blame me?"

"Not at all."

Jade leaned her head against his shoulder and cried silently.

…...

They buried Rose near the cave in a small clearing. Dave spent the whole day digging the grave, refusing to let anyone take over, stopping only to eat. Jade had made a makeshift cross to mark her grave before helping Karkat and John pack up their things. They had all decided that none of them wanted to stay in the cave longer than they had to.

At dusk, they all gathered around the grave and Dave and John lowered Rose in. They stood around in silence. No one said anything, no speeches were given. It didn't feel like the time for speeches. They all just stood in silence until Dave said the only thing that needed to be said.

"See ya later, sis."

He dropped the dirt into her grave, and then John did followed by Jade. Karkat just stood there. The whole process of human burial was new to him. He sighed and grabbed a handful of dirt and held it over the grave. He mentally thanked her for letting him talk to her before letting the dirt fall from his hands.

He turned and grabbed the shovel that Jade had used as a weapon and began filling in the grave. All

four of them took turns shoveling in the grave, Dave going last. Once the grave was full, Jade put the cross at the head of the grave. They all stood in silence for a while longer before Dave turned and strode off for the cave.

The other three followed him, taking up refuge in different corners of the cave, silent. Karkat lay with his back to the others, staring at the wall of the cave. He heard shuffling and saw someone stepping over him.

Wordlessly, John lay down beside him and curled up against him. Karkat wrapped his arms around him and rested his chin against his head. It took a little while, but soon they were asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys! I have a new chapter for you! since you guys have been so nice to me and so very patient, I decided this week would be update central. Unfortunately, I have no more chapters written and edited at this point. Rest assured though, I plan on getting this ship righted and back on course. I would like to have it mostly finished by Christmas. No Guarantees though. Anywho, here's chapter 13. Enjoy!

Twiin-Vii2iion2

...

Karkat was the first to wake up the next morning. He did some final checks on the packs while avoiding looking at the empty spot where Rose used to lay. The others began to wake one by one, and wordlessly they all gathered their stuff and left the cave for good, heading out in any direction, just sort of aimlessly wandering.

"Where are we even going?" Karkat spoke up, breaking the silence that had been hovering around them for almost an hour.

"Somewhere," Dave responded, his voice strained and tight.

"Where was this secret rebel base supposed to be?" Karkat asked tentatively, sensing the tension between them. No one answered. "Look, guys, stop here." The other three stopped and looked at him before he continued. "I know this is a hard moment, but if we just keep wandering, we are going to run into more trouble. We need to decide on where we're going."

They all just looked at each other, and then Jade sighed. "Well, the rumors were that it was in a hidden base in Texas, somewhere near the capital city, Austin. In a national park."

"Angelina National Forest," Dave spoke up.

Karkat looked around in a confused manor. "Texas? Austin? National Park?" he asked.

"Texas is a state from what used to be the United States before the trolls invaded. Austin is a city in that state. A National Park is basically land that people weren't allowed to build on," John explained quickly.

Karkat nodded, translating some of the words in his head into terms he could understand. 'United States' was a weird one. He guessed that was basically an empire or something. And this 'Texas State' was part of its land.

"Anyway," Dave said, "Angelina National Forest is about a four hour drive from Austin. Not to mention the fact that we're way too far north. It could take us days to reach there, weeks if we go on foot. It'd be a fucking miracle if we made it there in one piece."

Karkat sighed heavily. "Then we'll have to get a car," he said matter-of-factly.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Dave asked, raising an eyebrow behind his shades.

"The patrols may still be looking for us, depending on if they found anyone who escaped. They may be driving the roads, scanning for more runaways. We can highjack one of these cars and go from there," Karkat said.

"There should be a road near here, if I didn't get my positions mixed up, which I never do," Jade offered.

"Which direction should we head?" Karkat asked her, making a mental note of how good she was with directions.

"South, so..." She thought for a second and looked up at the sky. "What time is it?"

"Around 10ish," Dave offered, and, after Karkat shot him a quizzical look, supplied with a shrug, "I'm good with time."

"So then south is..." Jade turned in a direction that was just off of where they had been heading, "that way."

"How did you know about the road?" John asked.

"I saw a map while we were put in the holding places. I figured we had to be close to this one road.

Apparently we are in Ouachita National Forest," Jade said with a shrug.

Karkat turned in the direction she had pointed. "We should get to the road. There, we can lay in wait for a car. With as close as it is to the complex, we might catch some trolls returning to the complex from patrols," he said. He began walking in the direction. "If we hurry, we might get lucky and catch one tonight." He set off at a brisk pace that turned into a jog and then into a sprint.

Within a half an hour, they had reached the road. They stopped, and Karkat looked around. "The trees provide enough coverage. But we won't be able to strike fast enough... we need a plan."

"What if we had a distraction?" Jade offered.

"Like?" Karkat's interest was piqued.

"Two of us should be able to neutralize the van full of trolls. The other two could get seen and run into the woods, forcing the car to stop. Now, obviously not all the trolls will get out; one or two may stay behind. One of us would take out the ones in the car while the other would follow the trolls running after the other two and take them out from behind," Jade said, using her arms to animate her plan in an attempt to get it across more easily.

Karkat nodded. "Sounds like a solid plan. Who's doing what parts?"

"Well I'm really fast," John offered. "It naturally makes sense that I'd be one of the distractions."

"I can keep up with John on a good day," Dave offered. "I can be the other distraction."

Karkat nodded and looked to Jade. Before he could ask the question he had an answer.

"I want to take out the fuckers that stay behind," She said, her tone getting across that this was not up for negotiating. Karkat nodded and turned to the other two.

"We should take up our positions. It may be a while before one comes, and it could be really late. If we get to that point, sleep lightly and be ready." Everyone nodded and took their positions: Dave and John found their spot, and Jade and Karkat hid a little further up. And with that, they waited.

…...

Karkat was awoken by Jade.

"I think I hear a car coming," she whispered softly. Karkat shot up and then shrank back down into his hiding spot. He looked around quickly. The car wasn't in sight, but he could definitely hear the hum of an engine in the distance. He glanced down the street, looking for a sign that either Dave or John were awake. He received his sign in the form of a flash of moonlight off of Dave's sunglasses as he took them off. Karkat sighed inwardly at the small relief, but his body stayed tense.

The engine sound was growing louder and louder. Any minute, the car would be coming around the bend. Karkat's muscles became taught, readying to jump into action.

The headlights were the first things to appear. Karkat's heart pounded harder and faster as the car whipped around the corner and zoomed towards them. They had to time this perfectly. Too soon, and John and Dave wouldn't be seen. Too late, and they'd be hit.

The seconds dragged on as the car drew closer to that magical invisible line that signaled when the two had to run.

"Five... four... three..." Karkat counted under his breath. Suddenly, John and Dave ran across the street. Slowly at first, then fast. The timing was perfect. The jeep screeched to a halt in front of Karkat and Jade, and the trolls inside jumped into action shouting at each other. There were 6 trolls in the jeep and four of them hopped out and ran after John and Dave. The driver stayed in his seat but the troll in shotgun got up and into what appeared to be a mounted gun on the back of the jeep.

Karkat cursed inwardly. That would make sneaking up behind the other trolls more difficult.

Or it would have had Jade not gotten up and moved silently up behind the troll. She shot up quick and grabbed his head, twisting it to the side quickly. With a sickening crack, the troll fell instantly and silently to the ground, dead before he even knew that he'd been hit.

Karkat took advantage of his new absence and made for the woods on the opposite side of the road. He glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the driver pulled out of his seat and onto the other side of the jeep to be killed horror movie style. Karkat shook his head and quickened his pace. John and Dave could only go for so long, and he had a lot of ground to make up.

Karkat flew between the trees, moving side to side. He heard the shouts of the trolls up ahead. He leaned forward and tried to close the distance. He caught a glimpse of one of the trolls ahead of him, and then he spotted the others. He veered off to their left and caught up to the one closest to him. He quickly changed course and rammed him at full speed, slamming him into a tree and feeling his ribs break beneath the force.

The troll gasped for air and collapsed. Karkat quickly grabbed his head and snapped his neck quickly.

Having heard the commotion, the other trolls stopped abruptly and turned around. Taking only a second to register what had happened, the three remaining trolls almost immediately started to converge on

Karkat. Karkat tensed, ready for the fight when he heard yells coming from behind the trolls. Suddenly John and Dave burst into view and tackled two of the trolls to the ground. Karkat didn't waste the distraction they had caused and immediately turned on the remaining troll.

He launched at the troll and rammed him against a tree. He started throwing punch after punch into the troll's gut. Shock or pain prevented the troll from attacking or defending, and, consequently, blow after blow connected with the enemy's stomach. Karkat broke off with a grunt and snarled as he grabbed the defenseless troll's head and began bashing it against the tree over and over and over again.

Lost in his rage, Karkat didn't stop until the troll's skull had been smashed to a pulp and the back of his head was mush. Karkat let go of him and staggered. He didn't know when he had started to cry, but red tears had started to stream down his face. He fell to his knees and stared at his hands. His head spun as he tried to figure out why he was suddenly so sad. 'Rose would have known,' he thought. And it hit him. That was why. John had told him that Rose was basically their psychiatrist. They would go to her with their problems. She was still good at it even when in a coma. He had become close to her without her saying a word. He had unloaded to her without her even being awake. She was always there though. She was great. She was gone.

Karkat felt a hand on his shoulder and he instinctively pulled away and turned to face his attacker. It was just John, his face a worried look.

"You okay, man?" he asked, his voice somber, sympathetic.

"Y-yeah..." Karkat stood up. "I just... I didn't realize how much Rose had grown on me, even though she was never awake..."

John placed a hand back on Karkat's shoulder. "I know," he said. "We all miss her, but we can't stay here. Come on. Let's get back to the road."

John held out his hand, ignoring the blood-smeared skin, and Karkat nodded before taking it. They walked together back through the woods towards the light from the car. When they exited the woods,

Karkat expected John to pull his hand away, seeing as Dave was already in the car. When he didn't, Karkat looked at him, and John just smiled back and gave his hand a small squeeze. Karkat smiled to himself and gave a much heavier squeeze back.

As the two climbed into the back seat, Karkat noticed that someone was missing.

"Where's Jade?" he asked.

As soon as he had spoken, Jade came out of the woods from the other side of the jeep. She silently walked towards the passenger side door, covered in dark blue liquid. She wordlessly opened the door and climbed into the jeep. Karkat and John stared at her from the back seat, unbelieving.

Dave gave her a once over before turning his head back to the road and starting the car.

"That color blue suits you," he said as the car lurched into motion.


End file.
